Sherpa Wealth Strategies includes, from left, Judy Johnson, administrative manager; Brian Stallcop, president; Erin Weber, financial adviser; and the office mascot, Doug. Not shown is Chasen Kaminsky, a financial planning associate.

After dabbling in investment clubs as a newspaper man, Brian Stallcop transitioned to a full-time financial adviser, something he’s been at for the last 20 years.

“I’ve always wanted to help people with their investments,” Stallcop said recently. “I was always the guy who ran investment clubs at work. It was just something I was keenly interested in. It planted a seed for a future career.”

Stallcop’s first career was in newspapers, working as a photojournalist and in sports for the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Wash. Later his career took him to The Indianapolis News, The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., and the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton, Wash., doing various stints as photo editor, metro editor, news editor, managing editor and editor. He was on track to be a publisher.

Seeing the traditional newspaper industry in decline with the advent of the internet, in 2001, Stallcop decided to make the leap and change careers to financial planning.

“I took an income tax class and started out by doing taxes for about 70 clients. But what I learned was that I don’t want to just do taxes for a living. I just really like helping people with their money.”

He, now 58, and his wife, Shawna, quit their jobs, sold their house and moved to Bend. They have since started a family and raised their two daughters here.

“Bend is such an awesome place to live. I wanted to live in a place where I could see the mountains every day and Shawna wanted to get out the rain in the Bremerton.

Stallcop started with Edward Jones, where he learned a lot about sales skills. Meanwhile, he picked up his securities licenses and, eventually, became a certified financial planner in 2007.

Sherpa Wealth Strategies is Stallcop’s own, independent company, located at 444 NE Norton Ave., Bend. His employees include: Judy Johnson, administrative manager; Erin Weber, financial adviser; and Chasen Kaminsky, a financial planning associate.

“A client of mine once noted that we were kind of like a guide to them, to get them to the mountaintop,” he said. So when he struck out on his own, the Sherpa moniker fit.

“We’re here to help you. We’ve been up this mountain many, many times, with other clients. The most dangerous part in the descent. We know the pitfalls, we know the dangers and we know the way back down,” he said.

His firm is affiliated with LPL Financial, which provides a trading platform, compliance oversight, technology and online access for customers.

What are your services?

The firm offers investment consulting and advanced planning, which includes wealth preservation, wealth protection, wealth transfer or estate planning, charitable giving and relationship management (which consists of helping clients build a financial professional network with CPAs, attorneys, insurance agents and others who can help them build financial security).

“We look at everything,” Stallcop said. “I want to know if they have proper auto and life insurance. A client may have built up a strong net worth, but they may be exposed on the liability side. We can really move the dial for someone who has more than $500,000 in assets.”

Sherpa manages about $105 million in assets for about 160 households, said Stallcop. Its focus is on medical professionals, successful small business owners and retirees. Sherpa Wealth Strategies requires an extensive client interview process upfront.

Thanks in part to the pandemic, Sherpa has clients spread across 24 states, but keeps in touch via online video calls.

“I prefer meeting face-to-face with clients, but we’ve actually brought people on board via a Zoom call.”

The future is bright, Stallcop says. “We continue to grow through referrals from attorneys, CPAs and, most of all, satisfied clients.”